Family TV.

Costly Changes

A New Generation Of Power Rangers Means New Toys

May 09, 1996|By Jennifer Mangan. Special to the Tribune.

Gone are the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" as we once knew them. Now the TV series is called "Power Rangers ZEO" and is full of new uniforms, new villains, new weapons, new monsters and yes, new toy opportunities. (Start your Christmas shopping early this year, because Saban Entertainment promises one of the most aggressive marketing campaigns ever devised to launch a children's television series.)

"What we have seen is that kids love change," says Barry Stagg, senior vice president of corporate communications for Saban Entertainment. "Kids notice things that are new and different. What we have done with the `Power Rangers' is turn it into a soap opera for kids. And while adults will look at the new `Power Rangers ZEO' and not see much that is different, the kids will."

What's so new and different about "Power Rangers" versus "Power Rangers ZEO"? This season the villains are a family of robots. The head hunk of tin, King Mondo, commands the new dark force called the Machine Empire. He is aided by his majestic minx, Queen Machina, and their bratty offspring, Prince Sprocket.

For quality time, the family controls the Cogs, an army of weird robots, and a fleet of machine-monsters. Their objective is to ruin the Power Rangers ZEO and ultimately, the Earth.

The cheesy Rita Repulsa and Lord Zed, who have fled the galaxy forever, were much more entertaining. Now there are only five Power Rangers to fight the major evil-doers because Billy has decided to take charge of the shiny new underground Power Chamber, a nice upgrade from the shabby Command Center.

The ZEO Crystal serves as the new energy source of power to morph from ordinary teenager to ZEO Ranger, and the new artillery of weapons and battle figures are ZEO Swords and ZEO Zords.

Stagg refers to the episodes prior to the incarnation of the "Power Rangers ZEO" as "Power Ranger" classics. He says the classics will be rebroadcast periodically throughout the season. So what does all this mean for those of us who are filled to the brim with Power Ranger paraphernalia?

"I am getting one of those big Rubbermaid storage containers to hold the toys, sealing it up and putting it in the attic for 20 years so the figures will be worth as much as the `Star Wars' memorabilia that is out now," says Sue Straight, whose 9-year-old son, Andrew, was, until recently, a die-hard Power Ranger fan.

Last February, "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" ran a 10-episode arc where the Power Rangers were changed into Young Rangers and stripped of their powers. Their only hope for survival was to call upon the Alien Rangers of Aquitar who came to their rescue.

"When the series introduced the Alien Rangers, Bandai (toy manufacturer) released a limited edition of the Alien Ranger action figures," says Stagg. "They sold out and you can't get them anymore. It's the nature of collectibles; and once it's out there and it's hot, people want them. The `Mighty Morphin Power Ranger' toys will increase in their collectibility. It will become more difficult to find them in stores as `ZEO' continues to take over. People hope that this stuff becomes so hot and so limited that its value increases big time."

"I think its just a way of life and something that is going to be perennial depending on the fad of the moment," says Straight. "Now Andrew is a `Goosebumps' fanatic. We have the books and the videos and he watches the prime-time specials. They've got all kinds of `Goosebumps' clothing out there, but he hasn't found that yet."